photo courtesy Texas Music Museum and Lydia Mendoza (1916----) Birthplace: Houston, Texas Genre: Tejano Influenced: all later Tejano singers, including Selena

In 1928, at the age of 12, Lydia Mendoza made her recording debut in a San Antonio hotel room-studio set up by Okeh Records to record La Familia Mendoza (aka Cuarteto Carta Blanca), a powerhouse of traditional Mexican-American recording artists whose music has been enjoyed throughout the Southwest and deep into Mexico. Lydia's signature song, "Mal Hombre," has become an enduring classic on both sides of the border.

Lydia's mother, Leonora Mendoza, was the musical head of the family. Leonora played guitar and taught the other family members to sing and play violin, mandolin, and percussion. When not entertaining, however, the family had to support itself by working as migrant laborers. The 1928 recordings brought a family windfall of $140, which enabled them to move to Detroit, their home base for several years of entertaining migrant workers and fellow Mexican Americans who had moved north during the Mexican Revolution.

Returning to Texas in the early thirties to play in San Antonio's Plaza de Zacate, the family again were invited to record in 1934. This time, after the family recorded six songs, Lydia had the chance to record solo, accompanying herself on the guitar. One of the six songs cut was "Mal Hombre," which became a hit throughout the Spanish-speaking parts of the U.S. As a result of that sucess, between 1934 and 1940 Lydia recorded just under 200 songs for the Bluebird label. Leonora organized a family variety show with Lydia as the featured solo singer and her sisters Juanita and Maria appearing as Las Hermanas Mendoza. La Familia Mendoza toured the Southwest and as far afield as Chicago in the years preceding World War II, but rationing during the war years brought a temporary halt to the family tours.

The touring and recording resumed after the war until the death of Leonora in 1952. During the fifties, Lydia Mendoza recorded for Falcon, Ideal, and Victor, acquiring the nickname "La Alondra de la Frontera," the Lark of the Border." Also popular in Mexico, she has sung publicly until quite recently, when illness has prevented her. Lydia Mendoza is truly a living legend of Tejano music.